Natural Reaction - a Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery Page 16

  He pulled out his radio and called into dispatch. “Gunman escaped through one of the doors on the southeast side of the high school. All units should be on the lookout for a single figure, dressed in dark clothing in the area of the student parking lot, tennis courts, soccer field or baseball field. Be aware the suspect is armed and dangerous.”

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Mary and Ian stood outside, next to her car, as the police did a thorough search of the high school. “You know,” Ian said. “I was just thinking if it had just been Rosie instead of you and Bradley, there might be two very dead ghost hunters.”

  Mary nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”

  “So, this was much more than a mere accident in a Chemistry lab,” Ian said. “I think the man was murdered.”

  “And the murderer is still alive,” Mary added.

  Bradley walked across the lawn towards them, speaking with one of his officers. “Yes, I just want to take a few minutes with Miss O’Reilly and Professor MacDougal up on the second floor to see if they can recall anything about the suspect,” he said. “I’d appreciate if you would watch the perimeter to ensure no one tries to get back in.”

  He looked up and met Mary’s eyes, concern evident.

  “Obviously the good Police Chief has come to the same conclusion we have,” Ian said.

  They walked over to Bradley, maintaining the appearance of being just witnesses to the crime. Mary took a deep breath. “Did you want to question us, Chief?” she asked.

  “I’d like you to come back into the school with me,” he said. “If we can retrace our steps, perhaps you can remember something important.”

  “Aye, we’d be happy to help you,” Ian said.

  They walked back to the front entrance and into the building. All the lights in the school were lit and the inside was now like midday. Bradley waited until they were in the stairwell, away from any doors and windows to stop and pull Mary into his arms. “I thought this was supposed to be a safe case,” he said, holding her close for a moment. “When I heard that second shot…”

  “Aye, that one was too close for comfort,” Ian agreed. “And had you not been here tonight, Mary and I would have walked into an ambush.”

  Bradley released Mary and turned to Ian. “An ambush set for you and Rosie.”

  They started up the stairs once again. “I doubt it was a coincidence the gunman was here on the very day Rosie received the key,” Ian said. “And now we have to solve the murder because we’re the prime targets.”

  “Well, I guess the best place to start is the scene of the crime,” Mary said, entering the Chemistry lab.

  The back of the room was still hidden in the shadows, but this time the lab tables were scattered with equipment for some kind of experiment the students would be performing the next day. The white board was covered with notes and a formula. Mary was happy to see the shades were still drawn, she really didn’t need anyone looking in on this conversation.

  “Why isn’t the door locked?” Bradley asked, following them into the room.

  Mary came over and took Bradley’s hand. He looked around the room and immediately spied the man in the shadows.

  “Because I won’t have another student locked in a burning room with no way to escape,” the ghost said.

  Bradley nodded, his heart beating a little faster. Would he ever get used to actually seeing ghosts? “Well, that sounds like a reasonable answer,” he said. “You must be Coach Thorne.”

  “I go nearly fifty years without anyone being able to see me and in two days three people are talking to me,” he said, moving out of the shadows. “What is this? A convention?”

  Mary chuckled. “No, but it is somewhat out of the ordinary,” she conceded. “This is Freeport’s Police Chief, Bradley Alden.”

  Charlie nodded his head in Bradley’s direction. “Nice to meet you Chief,” he said.

  “Bradley, please,” he said. “I understand you’re quite a hero. One of the people you saved is a dear friend of ours. We owe you a great deal.”

  “Rosie Meriwether,” Charlie said with a smile. “Is she still an interesting combination of happiness, enthusiasm, love and eccentricity?”

  They all laughed. “Aye, we call it joie de vivre,” Ian said.

  “Joy of life,” Charlie said, nodding. “Yes, that describes her perfectly.”

  “Unfortunately, someone was trying to put an end to that life this evening,” Bradley said. “There was a gunman waiting in the hall for her.”

  “A gunman,” Charlie exclaimed. “For Rosie? Why?”

  “Because they know she is investigating your death,” Mary explained.

  “Well, then, stop,” Charlie said firmly. “I died to save people, not to have them killed.”

  Ian shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Aye, and there’s the rub,” he said. “You thought you died saving people, but you were murdered.”

  “Murdered?” he replied. “No! I couldn’t have. How?”

  “That’s what we’d really like to figure out,” Mary said. “And now that Rosie’s in danger, there’s no going back.”

  Charlie paced across the room. “But, I wasn’t murdered,” he insisted. “It was an experiment gone wrong. Faulty chemicals. Maybe a prank that got out of control. But murdered?”

  He shook his head, “Why would someone want to murder me?”

  “Charlie, I need you to think back to that day,” Mary said. “Think back to when you were dropping Stevo out the window.”

  “Yeah, I remember it,” he said. “Stevo was amazing. He kept his head and saved lives. There was no way I could have gotten all those kids out before the explosion.”

  “So, all the kids were out,” Mary said. “It was just you and Stevo. Where was the fire?”

  He walked up to the front window and faced the back of the room. “We were here,” he said. “The smoke was getting pretty thick, we were coughing, but we could still see out the windows. I told Stevo I’d let him down and then I’d come down next.”

  He chuckled. “I made him promise not to whip me over to Smith for a double play.”

  “So, Stevo’s safe,” Mary said, she and Bradley walking over and joining Charlie at the window. “You’re ready to climb out the window…then what happened?”

  “Boom,” Charlie said. “That’s it boom! Then it was over.”

  “Did you turn away from the window? Did you hear something? Did you hesitate?”

  “Hell no,” he said. “I wanted out. My foot was on the window sill.”

  “Do remember the impact? Do you remember which way you were blown?”

  He paused and thought about it for a moment. His face registered the shock of the dawning realization. “From the right,” he said slowly, “the explosion came from the front of the class, not the back.”

  Mary nodded. “The explosion had nothing to do with the fire. Someone set a secondary explosion and detonated it once you were the only one left in the room.”

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Charlie hovered over a lab stool next to one of the tables, his head resting in his scarred hands. “How could this…?” he stammered, his voice filled with bewilderment. “Why would someone…”

  “It never makes sense,” Mary said.

  He lifted his head, a different kind of pain etched in his eye. “But I thought the kids liked me.”

  “They loved you,” she insisted. “The students we’ve spoken with loved you. You made a difference in their lives and they never forgot you.”

  “This didn’t have to be the action of a student,” Bradley added. “The security wasn’t as tight in those days as it is today. Almost anyone could have gotten into the school and planted the bomb. Anyone with that kind of knowledge.”

  Charlie nodded his head. “I’m sorry, I know it’s not helpful, but I can’t think of anyone who wanted me to dead.”

  “That’s good,” Ian inserted. “At least when we find the bugger it won’t be a long list.”
/>
  Charlie laughed bitterly. “Well, I hope not.”

  “So, let’s first talk about the teachers you worked with,” Mary suggested. “Were you up for tenure? Was there any competition?”

  Charlie shrugged. “Yeah, as a matter of fact, I was up for department head,” he said. “So was Ross Gormley, but he’d never do something like this.”

  “Gormley?” Bradley asked. “Was his son Walter Gormley?”

  “Yeah, little Wally Gormley,” Charlie acknowledged. “He was my student because a parent couldn’t teach their own child. Not that much teaching got through Wally’s head. He wasn’t the sharpest tack in the box. What ever happened to him?”

  Ian shook his head. “He’s the superintendent of schools,” he admitted.

  “No, kidding,” Charlie said. “Wow. I would have never guessed that one.”

  “But Wally was also the only other person who knew Rosie was coming up here tonight,” Bradley said. “And it’s obvious Ross Gormley would know how to create a bomb.”

  “And have access to your class,” Mary added.

  Charlie shook his head. “I can’t see it,” he said. “Ross was a good guy. He was my friend.”

  “Well, I recently learned you can’t always rule out the guys you believe are your friends,” Bradley said bitterly. “I suggest we put him on our list.”

  Charlie glided across the room and stood next to the front window. “Fine, you’re the expert,” he said. “What else do you need to know?”

  “There was an inquiry after your death,” Mary said. “Someone wanted you labeled as negligent. Did you hear anything about that?”

  Charlie shook his head. “No,” he said. “Really? After I saved those kids, someone wanted to blame me? My poor Betty. That must have been hell for her.”

  “Betty?” Bradley asked.

  “My wife,” he replied. “I left a wife and a little girl.”

  “Dr. Thorne is his daughter,” Mary told Bradley.

  “Well, then, I owe you a debt of gratitude,” Bradley said. “Your daughter saved my life.”

  Charlie smiled. “She was always a bright little tyke,” he said proudly. “I’m glad my death didn’t hold her back.”

  He sighed sadly. “What else haven’t I told you?”

  “Were there any students who held a grudge against you?” Mary asked.

  He shook his head. “No, this was a good year,” he said. “The kids were great and the parents were fairly normal too.”

  “While you’re thinking about that one, I have another question for you,” Ian said. “Why would the folks at B&R Manufacturing be so interested in covering up what happened in here?”

  “B&R Manufacturing,” Charlie asked. “Caleb Brandlocker?”

  “Aye, well now it’s his son, Ephraim,” he said.

  Shaking his head, he glided back to stand in front of them. “You learn a lot about people when you coach their children,” he said. “Some have illusions of grandeur for both themselves and their kids. I always feel sorry for the kids whose parents think high school baseball is a ticket to the major league. I mean, give the kid a break, this is Freeport and this is high school baseball.”

  Mary nodded. “I coached pee-wee baseball in Chicago,” she said. “I had to throw parents out of the games more often than any of the kids. But, I didn’t have an issue from them because I carried a gun.”

  Charlie laughed. “Yeah, I should have been a cop,” he agreed. “Those parents don’t do their kids any good by making them think they are better than anyone else. They grow up to be delinquents.”

  “Ephraim Brandlocker?” Ian asked.

  “He was gone, graduated by the time this happened,” Charlie said. “He had a lot of issues, but it’s not my story to tell. Sorry, that’s all I can say.”

  “Anyone else,” Mary asked. “Anyone like Ephraim?”

  Charlie shook his head. “No, like I said, this was a good year,” he said. “I had a bunch of good players who knew what it was like to play as a team.”

  “You took State that year,” Mary said.

  “What?” Charlie asked.

  “Stevo Morris told us the team took State that year,” Mary said. “The boys wanted to do it for you. They didn’t want you to be forgotten.”

  “For me?” Charlie asked, tears streaming down his cheek. “That…that means a lot. Thank you.”

  And then he faded away.

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Mary pulled her Roadster into the driveway and watched through the rearview as Bradley’s cruiser followed directly behind her. They all exited the cars at the same time and walked up the stairs to the front door.

  Stanley opened the door before they had a chance to enter the code into the lock. “I didn’t want you to knock and wake the kids,” he said. “What took you so long?”

  “Where’s Rosie?” Bradley asked. “She needs to be in here for this conversation.”

  “I’m here, Bradley,” said Rosie, getting up from her seat on the couch. “What’s wrong?”

  The three entered the room and, not bothering to take off their coats, moved to the chairs in the living room. “Why don’t you sit back down,” he suggested, “And Stanley, why don’t you sit down next to her.”

  “What the hell…?” Stanley began to bluster.

  “There was a shooting at the high school this evening,” Mary said, interrupting him.

  “What?” Rosie exclaimed. “Are you…? Is everyone fine?”

  Bradley nodded. “Yes, but there were a couple of close calls,” he said. “And if not for Ian’s quick reflexes and Mary’s training, things would have been a lot worse.”

  “Well, quite frankly, if the constable here hadn’t shown up before we entered the school, Mary and I probably wouldn’t be having this conversation with you,” Ian added.

  “But why would someone shoot at you?” Rosie asked.

  Mary knelt down in front of Rosie and took her hands in her own. “The better question would be why would someone want to shoot at you?” Mary said pointedly. “They were expecting you and Ian, not me. And certainly not Bradley.”

  “Are you saying someone wanted to kill Rosie?” Stanley asked.

  Mary nodded. “Or at least scare her away from the high school.”

  “But, but who?” Rosie asked, her face white with shock.

  “That is what we intend to find out,” Bradley said. “But in the meantime, we need to practice some precautions around here.”

  Stanley nodded, looping his arm around Rosie’s shoulders and pulling her close. “I want her in protective custody,” he said. “I want her in a safe house.”

  “Well, I agree with the sentiment, Stanley,” Bradley said. “But it’s going to be hard to prove this wasn’t anything but us catching a petty thief off guard.”

  “But the only one who knew she was gonna get the key was Gormley,” Stanley said. “You could arrest him.”

  Rosie shook her head, slipped a hand out of Mary’s grasp and patted Stanley’s leg. “He’s right, Stanley,” she said. “Who is going to believe that I went to Gormley and asked for a key so I could investigate a ghost?”

  “I’d believe you, Rosie,” Bradley said with a smile. “But you’re absolutely right, only those of us lucky to be in the Mary O’Reilly unit understand what’s going on.”

  “So, what’s gonna happen?” Stanley asked angrily. “You gonna leave her out there like a sitting duck?”

  “You know better than that, Stanley,” Mary chided, “You know we care about Rosie as much as you do.”

  Stanley grumbled. “Well, so what’s your plan?”

  “I want Rosie to stay with you for a few days,” Bradley said. “This way she won’t totally go off the radar and the people who tried to ambush her won’t know that we’ve figured them out, so we’ll have a better chance of catching them again. I can’t think of anyone who would watch over her and protect her better than you.”

  “Darn right, ain’t no one who would protect he
r better’n me,” he spat.

  Turning to her, he placed his hand over hers and squeezed it gently. “I promise you, Rosie, you’ll be safe,” he said. “Ain’t no one gonna get to you with me standing in their way.”

  She laid her head down on his shoulder. “Oh, Stanley, I’ve never felt safer,” she sighed.

  He rose and pulled her up to her feet. “Are there things you need before you can stay at my house?” he asked.

  “I would not advise going to your house tonight,” Bradley said. “I don’t know if they have someone there watching the place.”

  “Oh, dear, there are a few things that I really shouldn’t be without,” Rosie said. “But I don’t want to risk… I do have my emergency kit back at the office, but I suspect you don’t want me to go there either.”

  Bradley nodded. “Sorry, Rosie.”

  “Why don’t you come upstairs with me,” Mary suggested. “I seem to recall you left some things here the last time you stayed.”

  The two women hurried up the stairs, their voices low as to not wake the children.

  “Oh, Mary, I can’t go to Stanley’s without my makeup,” she said. “I’ll look like a hag in the morning and men aren’t supposed to see women like that until after they’re married.”

  Mary chuckled quietly. “Let’s look through the guest bathroom and then through my bath and see if we can’t put together enough supplies to make it through tomorrow morning.”

  In less than fifteen minutes Rosie had a bag packed and she was ready to go. With Stanley’s arm around her and her overnight case clasped at her chest, they said their good-nights and drove off to Stanley’s home.

  Mary closed the door behind them, a small smile on her face.

  “So, care to share with us what was in that wee case?” Ian asked with a grin.

  She shook her head. “Womanly secrets,” she said.

  He laughed. “Ah, it’s just as well.”

  He turned to Bradley. “Do you think this house is in any danger?” he asked. “Seeing as Rosie used my name to get into the high school.”